Abstract Portraits Re-Imagined as Real People

The real life models is a project by 19-year-old photographer Flra Borsi that explores a world where abstract portraits are actually realistic depictions of people with distorted features. Her series takes the idea of painters using real life models as an anatomical reference for their portraits and asks, “What if these abstract models were real people?”

Borsi, whom we’ve seen before as the photographer/fangirl who Photoshopped herself throughout time, explains, “The essence of my photos is to visualize the physically impossible in a form of photo manipulation.” In this case, the Budapest-based creative presents a re-imagining of the people behind four abstract paintings by late greats–Woman with a Green Hat by Pablo Picasso, Portrait of a Polish Woman by Amedeo Modigliani, Gelber Narrenhut by Rudolf Hausner, and Female Torso Kazimir Malevich. The project presents an unusual lineup of women with misshapen facial features, elongated necks, and questionable attire.

We have always been big fans of Pakistan-born artist Anila Quayyum Agha’s mesmerizing art. In 2014, we raved about Intersections, a captivating wooden cube that cast dreamy shadows with a single light bulb. Fortunately for us, Agha is still creating intricate installations in this style, with her most recent, radiant piece being All The Flowers Are For Me. Like Intersections, All The Flowers Are For Me plays with light and space.

Researchers in Myanmar made an incredible discovery last year by finding the first dinosaur tail preserved in amber. The findings were published recently in Current Biology and are all the more incredible due to that fact that the tail was covered in feathers. Paleontologist Lida Xing made the discovery in a local market, where amber is frequently sold for jewelry.